We rather liked Elements Dropbox Powered Text Editor when it was first reviewed last year. Developers, Second Gear Software, were obviously determined to make it all the better by releasing a significant update in August of this year and they’ve gone one better by releasing yet another major update in the form of Version 2.1.

The most significant addition here is that of iCloud support. Elements 2.1 now allows the user to sync their settings, appearance preferences and scratchpad contents between different devices thanks to such support. Something that’s particularly ideal for those who use the app on both iPhone and iPad.

As well as that, there’s now the ability to copy the Markdown generated HTML preview to the clipboard enabling writes to transfer their words to the CMS of their choice, ideal for those using an CMS that Elements doesn’t yet support.

Along the way, Second Gear Software has also fixed numerous bugs and changed a few minor things. Most curically, Elements now requires iOS 5 to run.

The update is available now for free for existing owners. Those yet to give Elements a try can purchase it for $4.99.

While the iPad can definitely be used to write (emails, blogging, etc), it isn’t necessarily ideal for writing more than short posts and emails. One solution would be to grab the iPad Keyboard Dock or a bluetooth keyboard. But the obvious problem with buying one of those is (1) the price and (2) it’s just something else to carry around. Inventor Cliff Thier came up with a solution that doesn’t involve carrying around another largish gadget.

The iKeyboard isn’t on the market yet. It’s one of those Kickstarter projects that will be funded and put into production only if a certain amount is pledged ($4000 in this case). The iKeyboard would attach to the iPad and create a sensation of touch-typing by providing tactile feedback similar to that of a real keyboard. The iKeyboard is light-weight – much lighter than carrying around a bluetooth keyboard. It seems that it will be cheaper than a bluetooth keyboard considering people that pledge over $30 will receive a first-generation iKeyboard (hopefully meaning that the product will be around $30).

Thier, along with industrial design firm IDEAZ, seem dedicated to making an experience akin to a real keyboard experience,

The designers at IDEAZ have managed to match the force required to depress a key on the iKeyboard to the force needed to depress a key on an Apple keyboard. They’ve also succeeded in making the iKeyboard’s keys travel a distance equal to that of Apple keys. We now have a fully functional prototype that works pretty well.

At the time I’m writing this, $14,376 has already been pledged to the iKeyboard. Looks like we’ll be seeing an iKeyboard in the near future. But there are still solid reasons to pledge. $30 or more will reward the pledger with the first-generation product and $50 or more will get the first and second-generation (when it comes out). Both increments will be asked to participate in providing feedback to create a better second-generation product. Interesting in supporting iKeyboard?

This is a great idea and is really worth a look at! You can see where you are walking, what is right in front of you, as you email. It's not perfect yet but the potential for this creative idea is immense!!

Note Pad is a text editor that lets you store notes into standard folders or in smart folders that automatically populate with notes that match the list of keywords associated with them or with notes whose location is within a certain distance of your current location. The author's web site makes available synchronization software for Windows and Mac OS X that allows you to sync the notes via wifi with your PC.

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